Shares in Babcock & Brown - 34 per cent of which were offered in the float - hit the market at a premium of almost $3, slipped back slightly to a low of $7.65, and then powered ahead, reaching a peak of $8.27 before settling down to a close of $7.98.

The latest listing came as two separate surveys on the market for IPOs - by KPMG Corporate Finance and Deloitte Corporate Finance - were released.

In its survey, Deloitte found that of the 46 companies floated in the three months to September 30, 80 per cent were trading at or above their issue price by the end of the quarter.

The newly listed companies averaged a return of 41 per cent, compared with an average 11 per cent return for those that were listed in 2003-04.

"The resources and primary industry sectors were the standout performers, enjoying strong returns as a result of buoyant commodity prices," said Deloitte Corporate Finance head Ian Thatcher.

"The energy sector was also a highlight, with an unusually large number of IPOs - seven floats raising a total of $48 million - and an exceptional average return of 115 per cent."

Deloitte found that the top two listings in the quarter were in the energy sector. Elixir Petroleum rose 320 per cent from its mid-July listing to the end of the quarter. Second was Tomahawk Energy, up 260 per cent.

Materials company Bluestone Tin was third, by the end of the quarter trading at a 230 per cent premium, followed by software and services company MatrixView (up 150 per cent) and health-care group SomnoMed (110 per cent higher).

All the best performers were microcaps. Of the top five floats by size, Super Cheap Autos recorded the sharpest share price rise, up 57 per cent from its listing date to the end of the quarter.

In its survey, KPMG said $1.33 billion had been raised from floats in the first quarter.

It nominated the Allco Hybrid Investment Trust - up 360 per cent - as best performer. Allco was not included in Deloitte's survey because of hybrid status.

The head of capital markets at KPMG's corporate finance division, Antony Cohen, said that among the trends identified in the September quarter was a move away from book-builds towards fixed-price floats as well as strong listings and performance premiums.

"Last year we saw a record number of IPOs hit the market," he said. "However, this didn't translate into a positive share price performance, with only 44 per cent of the 143 IPOs trading at or above their issue price as at 30 June, 2004. In this type of environment, investors are looking for assurance, and thus we've seen the return of the fixed-price float."